Page 73 of Not My Greek Wedding

‘Nope,’ he says. ‘You are being discovered and appreciated, and rightly so,’ he tells me kindly.

‘Oh, Ash, I can’t believe it. And it may have just given me the confidence to take on a little singing job.’

I tell him all about the possibility of doing the summer season at the restaurant here in Oia. ‘If I can sort out somewhere cheap to stay, that is.’

‘Oia, hey that sounds amazing,’ he says. ‘And when you come home, I’m sure people will be queuing up to hire you,’ he says.

When we finish speaking, I do my little running on the spot happy dance, which I realise I haven’t done in a while. Suddenly life seems full of possibilities and it feels so good!

TWENTY-NINE

‘But you are coming home with us tomorrow?’ asks Irene as we enjoy a penultimate breakfast at the Sea Breeze.

‘I’m pretty sure I will be, yes,’ I tell them, having finished a breakfast of fruit and pancakes. ‘I want to go and see my family, and my brother is home this coming weekend,’ I tell Irene and Patsy. ‘But if things work out, I will return in a few weeks to start the job in the restaurant.’

‘Ooh how exciting!’ says Patsy. ‘We might even come out again and see you, before the season ends, what do you think, hey, Irene?’

‘We might do just that,’ she agrees. ‘Life is for living after all, and none of us know how much time we have left.’

‘I’ll drink to that,’ says Patsy, and we clink our coffee cups.

After breakfast we opt for a beach day together, so nip back to the apartments to grab our towels and change into our swimwear.

After applying sunscreen, I settle down onto my sunbed with a book, when my phone pings with a text message. It’s from Ash telling me to check his YouTube account.

‘How many million?’ asks Irene as she sits up to take sip of her drink. I show her and Patsy the video.

‘Three million and rising,’ I tell her.

‘And what are people saying?’ asks Patsy.

‘Have you been signed up by anyone yet?’ asks Irene.

‘I’m not sure there are any record producers watching, but so far people have been very complimentary,’ I tell them, much to my relief.

‘Well, that is hardly surprising, you are brilliant! Oh, Mia, this might be the start of something big,’ says Irene. ‘What made you change your mind about you sharing a video of you singing?’

‘Truthfully? I’m not sure, but perhaps hearing Ash play that music he wrote made me realise we shouldn’t let our talent go to waste. He has a talent for writing songs, and without singers to perform those songs, they would never come to life, would they?’

‘They would merely be poems,’ says Patsy, nodding.

‘That’s very true,’ I agree.

‘Have you told your parents all about the job offer?’ asks Irene.

‘I think I will wait until I get home the day after tomorrow,’ I say as I sip a delicious fresh fruit mocktail. ‘Then if it all works out, I will tell them that I will be returning here for the summer holidays.’

‘Yes, maybe that isn’t something you should tell them over the phone,’ Irene agrees. ‘Oh, but I am sure they will be thrilled for you.’

‘I’m sure they will.’

In fact, I am certain they will be, and Gran especially will urge me to follow my dreams. I feel blessed to have such a supportive family and can’t wait to spend some time with them when I get home. Especially as my brother will be home for a while too.

I upload some photos to my socials, as even though I have not been as preoccupied with my phone, I have a loyal following who enjoy seeing my content.

Scrolling through my pictures brings back all the memories of Santorini, although a picture on the yacht alongside Christos feels almost like seeing a snapshot of me with someone I barely knew. I decide not to post that one to my social media.

I linger over some of the other photos as I upload them, smiling at the sight of the donkeys in Fira, and the day of the picnic at the beach with Andreas, that includes a picture of us raising our soft drinks as Andreas pulls a funny face.

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